Remember when Facebook, in the midst of a publicity crisis, rebranded itself as Meta to stake their claim on the emerging metaverse?

They might not have been there first. MetaX LLC who operated under the name Meta in the VR space is now suing Meta Platforms (aka Facebook).

A third company, MetaCompany, also report having been hounded by Facebook's lawyers to sell them their name.

Cases like this are often settled outside of courtooms for undisclosed sums so Meta / Facebook may not be facing a re-rebrand even if they have acted wrongly.

On the other hand one aspect of this case is unusual.

The currently theoretical metaverse is an imminent and potentially extremely profitable market with numerous big tech companies poised to begin fishing its waters.

Meta is a brand name which several might be extremely eager to snap up.

If Meta / Facebook have been naughty they may have to contend with the possibility of competing offers.

Which would drive up any potential settlement figure or possibly see the case go to court and the Meta name then sold to someone else.

[ Main Image: Meta (Facebook) logo. Credit: Meta. ]

References

Brittain, Blake (July 20, 2022) Meta hit with trademark lawsuit by virtual-reality company MetaX. Reuters.

Meta. The Real Meta. (viewed July 23, 2022)

Wickens, Kate (July 21, 2022). Meta is being sued by Meta for using the name Meta. PC Gamer.